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Friday, February 26, 2016

Healing Love by Abby Niles Blog Tour

She’s a mystery he can’t resist...

Doctor Ella Watts wants her old life back. Desperately. But the past has
returned for its rematch, and going back home—even telling anyone her real
name—isn’t an option until she’s confident in her MMA abilities. Personal
trainer Lance Black is the man to help her reach her goals. Not only is he
toned, muscular, and gorgeous, he’s patient, a great teacher, and willing to
treat her like a worthy opponent. Except his size makes her freeze whenever he
gets too close. If Ella can’t learn how to overcome her fear of being attacked,
she’ll never be able to move on with her life.

Underground fighter Lance Black knows there’s more to the mysterious blonde
ninja than a beautiful woman determined to improve her fighting skills. She can
best anyone close to her size – man or woman – but insists on working out with
him, even though he’s got a good 70 pounds and several inches on her. Despite
her reticence, he’s determined to get her to open up so he can help her get
over her mental block. And if that means he can get to know her outside the
gym, all the better.

“What’s she looking for?” Lance asked, refocusing on the present. She had impressed him yesterday with her chokehold, but that didn’t mean she knew squat about MMA. That could have simply been adrenaline spurring her on.

“She was pretty specific in what she wants.” A weird expression crossed Mac’s face, a mixture of consternation and intrigue. “She’s not looking for a pussy workout—her words not mine. She wants a trainer who knows a lot about ground work, but can also help her build the strength and speed of her stand-up. She wants to be treated just like any of the male fighters in this building and the most interesting thing is she wanted a light-heavyweight build. That’s you.”

Lance stared at his friend for a second, digesting the information. That was a tall order from someone just coming in for a workout. “Does she fight?”

That was the only explanation for her requests he could think of. In recent years, women fighters had surfaced in the industry and they kicked some serious ass.

“Nope. Just does this as a hobby.”

Kind of an intense hobby for someone who had no interest in making it a career.

“She’s good,” Mac continued. “Watch her.”

Lance crossed his arms over his chest and studied her inside the ring, still circling with Billy, dodging his attempt at a takedown. She was a beauty. Even with everything that had been happening, he’d noticed that yesterday. Hell, he’d have to be blind to miss it. After she’d sent Ralph to the ground, she stood there with confidence oozing off her. No fear or intimidation had even flicked in her eyes as the man towered over her. Other than the birth of his daughter, it was the most awe-filled sight he’d ever seen. When Ralph had started to rise, Lance had been uncertain of what the man was capable of, so he’d stepped forward, daring him to try anything. And still, she hadn’t wavered in her confident stance.

Today she was the same. Except she wasn’t wearing jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt. No, today she was in a tight teal workout top and matching spandex shorts. The outfit showed off the softs swells of her toned, athletic body.

Suddenly, she went down on both knees and flipped Billy over her back onto his. The canvas thudded under the impact of his body. Impressive.

“I’ve watched her all morning,” Mac said. “She’s fucking something and has been training for a while.”

“Is this all you’ve seen her do?”

“Nah. Billy warmed her up on the bag. Dude, let me tell you, that woman has a fierce right hook. I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of it.”

The woman, while still shapely and soft, had a steel quality about her—a don’t-even-think-to fuck-with-me aura. He liked that.

She would be fun to train. As much as he needed to keep his distance from her, a thrill encased him now. Maybe they could leave whatever happened yesterday outside the door.

Reviews by the
Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary – ☆☆☆☆
Ella Watts is running to save her life. She ends up in Kansas and is now going
by Kelsey McGuire. She is trying to learn how to stop another attack before it
happens to her again. She is well trained in MMA and knows how to move and all
about the punches and the jabs. But when someone bigger and stronger than her
comes too close or touches her, she freezes. And that can only get her killed.
She joins a gym, where she meets Lance Black, her new trainer. He is impressed
with her and can't figure out why she needs more training. It is funny that
when they first meet, Kelsey thinks she is saving his life because he is being
attacked by three thugs. Lance is too proud and doesn't ask for help from
anyone. The thugs are after him because he borrowed money from the wrong
people. At the time it was the only option or lose his daughter. He will not
explain any of this to Kelsey until she is too pissed to really listen. When
the McNealy brothers come up with a way to make even more money, they need
Lance to agree and it will help him pay off his debt sooner. But at what cost
will it take for him to see that it may just kill him in the end? Will Kelsey
stay around to watch Lance self-destruct or will she leave early and go back
home to face her attacker? With the sparks between Lance and Ella, this story
will keep you turning pages to see what will happen next. I love a good MMA
story and this one is great. I have read the first in this series, Extreme Love, and I need to read books two
and three to catch up. Each story can be read as a standalone, so check this
series out if you love MMA and alpha males.

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This book took a while to get going, but it has a few particularly satisfying
last few chapters, that is for sure. The two lead characters suffer from that
infuriating habit of not communicating with their nearest and dearest when it
really matters. It is possibly the most hilariously annoying part of being a
reader – being so involved with these people and them not doing the obvious
thing to resolve the issue. Of course it usually also sheds a light on one's
own failings in that area – which can also be frustrating! Lance is a swoon
worthy MMA trainer, Ella is beautiful and a fighter – they certainly heat up
the gym!

If you like your lead men to be fighters and your heroines to be strong,
independent and intelligent, then this should work for you. Thank you Ms.
Niles.

Stephanie – ☆☆☆☆
This read was a little slow at first, but once it hooked me – it kept me. I
enjoyed the ending. I found it heartwarming and closed the story perfectly. Two
people struggling with their pasts and their pride, only to find love and the
support they need within each other. Lance is absolutely swoon worthy and Ella
is one strong badass. I've become an Abby Niles fan and can't wait to read the
next story in this series.

Abby Niles is the author of the contemporary MMA series, Love to the
Extreme, and the paranormal series, The Awakening. She is also the author to
the geeky romantic comedy, Defying Convention, where Live Action Role Players
(LARPers) set out to teach their favorite author a lesson, but end up playing
matchmaker instead.

Abby lives in North Carolina with the love of her life and their combined
gaggle of kids. When she’s not writing, she’s trying to catch up on an endless
pile of laundry and find time to get some much needed reading in.

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